In Iranian New Year message, Obama warns Iran of isolation but not strikes

Published on March 18, 2013

President Obama warned Iran of further isolation but stopped short of threatening military action should the country not cooperate with the international community on its nuclear program.

Senior service providers wary as New Year approaches

Published on December 11, 2012

They’ve weathered five years of economic crisis, relentless state budget cuts and growing demand for their services. Now, social service providers for seniors in the Los Angeles area are bracing for a new slew of challenges in 2013.

Who will live, who will die?

By Dennis Prager
Published on September 19, 2012

You don’t have to be a Jewish scholar to note a glaring difference between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Jan. 1, the secular New Year.

September 16, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on September 16, 2012

5773

By Rob Eshman
Published on September 12, 2012

What a year, right? The Jewish year 5772 started with a sense that a military confrontation with Iran is avoidable. Now it seems — all merits aside — imminent.

At the New Year, let’s give animals a new Jewish chance

Published on August 14, 2012

Shortly after I became a vegan, around 20 years ago, I ordered my first “vegan option” at a Jewish organizational dinner. It arrived: a plateful of raw celery and carrot sticks arranged around a cup of something ranch dressing-ish that probably wasn’t even vegan.

Obama appeals directly to Iranian people in holiday message [VIDEO]

Published on March 20, 2012

President Obama in his message for the Persian New Year appealed directly to the Iranian people's aspirations for freedom. "I want the Iranian people to know that America seeks a dialogue to hear your views and understand your aspirations," Obama said in his message for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which was marked Tuesday.

Happy Jewish New Year! [VIDEO]

By JewishJournal.com
Published on December 21, 2011

For more Gold, check out his video from the Montreal Comedy Festival.

Seth Godin’s Wisdom

By Samira Asemanfar
Published on November 21, 2011

Travel as a Lens for HIgh Holy Day Reflections (video)

By Lisa Niver Rajna
Published on October 2, 2011

Rosh Hashanah ‘in the house tonight’ dances into the new year

Published on September 13, 2011

Aish brings together rhythem, beats and davening for their 'Rosh Hashanah in the house tonight' dancing spectacle.

5770 in Israel: Diplomatic crises, but economic prosperity

Published on September 3, 2010

For Israel, the Jewish year 5770 was characterized by ups and downs in relations with the United States, growing international alienation and a virtual stalemate in Middle East peacemaking -- until the summit meeting in Washington just before Rosh Hashanah.

Jewish interfaith leaders urge Shabbat sermon about Islam

Published on September 3, 2010

A group of Jewish interfaith educators is asking rabbis to talk about Islam next Shabbat.

Methodist learns it’s 5769, says it’s awesome Jews live in the future

By The Web Guy
Published on October 1, 2008

Mark the New Year with late summer harvest menu

By Judy Zeidler
Published on September 14, 2006

Garden fresh food.

How sweet it is: behind the buzz at two of California’s hives

By Amy Klein
Published on September 14, 2006

The complicated process that bees go through to make honey and the complex operation that people go through to get that honey to the table.

Polish the Soul for Elul

By Rabbi Anne Brener
Published on September 7, 2006

Elul is traditionally a month for polishing the soul. During this time, we search ourselves for blemishes. Then, through the process of teshuvah, we polish and refine ourselves. The culmination of this refinement is the fast of Yom Kippur, from which we hope to emerge shining and radiant.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the High Holidays

By Amy Klein
Published on September 15, 2005

Goodbye summer; hello High Holidays. While Rosh Hashanah falls later in the calendar than normal this year (Oct. 3-5), it's never too early to get ready for the Jewish New Year. Besides, preparations traditionally begin in the Hebrew month of Elul, which started Sept. 4.

If you didn't know that -- and were too afraid, too preoccupied or too unknowing to ask -- then we have just the thing for you: this handy guide to get your mind, body and soul in the spirit, so to speak, for the Days of Awe.

We've included Frequently Asked Questions about the High Holidays; a how-to on finding a synagogue (no, it's not too late); a music and book list for inspiration and explanation; and a primer for those new to the faith.

We also have prepared our special Congregation Directory (pages 40-47), a comprehensive listing of Los Angeles congregations sorted by neighborhoods.

O.C. Election Set for Rosh Hashanah

By Marc Ballon
Published on August 25, 2005

Jewish groups are expressing anger that government officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have scheduled a special election in Orange County to fall on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year for Jews.

Sweet Support for Israel

By Andrea Adelson
Published on September 11, 2003

The Jewish Federation of Orange County is on its way to starting another New Year tradition by again urging residents to buy Israeli-made honey for their own Rosh Hashanah tables as well as contributing a jar to an Israeli family.

This year, six other Jewish communities in Western states are joining in the "Honey for the Holidays" promotion, started by the broad-based O.C. Israel Solidarity Task Force, said Bunnie Mauldin, the O.C. Federation's executive director. "We are with you in sweetness and sorrow," reads the card that will be attached to hundreds of honey jars expected to be distributed in the Israeli communities of Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon.

Remembering Dad During Days of Awe

By Lisa J. Solomon
Published on September 4, 2003

This Rosh Hashanah brings to a close the year in which my father died. For this reason, and many others, I am grateful that the Jewish New Year is marked not by parties, but by days and weeks preceding and following of self-evaluation, quiet contemplation and prayers for blessings in the coming year.

Fretting About Fressing

By Judy Gruen
Published on August 29, 2002

Apples dipped in honey. And while you're at it, dip the challah, too. Chicken soup with knaidel. Here, who's gonna finish this last little piece of brisket? What? You didn't try the noodle kugel? Don't tell me you're too full for my homemade honey cake and cookies -- it's Yom Tov!

The Liebermans’ Tasty New Year

By Beverly Levitt
Published on August 22, 2002

This year, 5763, Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat, the weekly observance that Sen. Joseph Lieberman calls "a sanctuary to put the outside world on hold and concentrate on what's really important -- your faith and your family." And although Lieberman, who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2000, will experience the same joy he feels every Friday night as he takes off his watch and prepares to get into the Sabbath mood, during Rosh Hashana all activities are heightened -- the prayers are longer, the conversation more intense, the urgency to evaluate the past year and make resolutions for a sweet New Year more palpable.

Big Questions for a New Year

By James D. Besser
Published on January 3, 2002

It is a new year, but the world and nation are still agonizing over a lot of old problems. President George W. Bush has promised that the long, hard fight against terrorism has just begun, but it is far from clear exactly what the next phase in that war will be. At home, a faltering economy and vanished government surplus promise a new budgetary day of reckoning.

A Portion of Parasha Breshit

By Abby Gilad
Published on October 11, 2001

Here we go again! We start the New Year by reading the Torah all over again from the beginning. Why do we do this, year after year? Why do we read the same things over and over again? Maybe we can find the answer in the word that means "year" in Hebrew: shana.

A Mitzvah Resolution

By Rabbi Dov Fischer
Published on September 6, 2001

In October 1999, I went through the personal tragedy of a divorce. I felt personally lost, very much alone. A lady in my congregational community, Lilly Kahn-Rose, approached me one Shabbat soon after, offering to help me in some way. I responded: "Please invite me and my children for some Shabbat meals, and please help me get some Shabbat meal invitations from others in the community. I can buy cold cuts, side dishes, and challah, can recite kiddush and lead z'mirot melodies, but it is going to be so lonely and feel so minimalist in our apartment. Please help me get me some Shabbat invitations."

New Year’s Resolutions

By Jane Ulman
Published on December 28, 2000

Four thousand years ago, the Babylonians originated the ritual of making New Year's resolutions. Most of them made the identical promise -- to return borrowed farm equipment.

Peace, It’s Wonderful

By Ivor Davis
Published on June 8, 2000

Hebrew for forgiveness, Selichot services are a time of preparation for the New Year, generally held after the conclusion of Shabbat prior to Rosh Hashanah.

Purim All Year

By Mark Schiff
Published on March 16, 2000

A year after my father's unexpected death from a kidney transplant, I returned home.
Six months earlier, my mother had sold our house, the one I had lived in my entire life. The synagogue was the same. The family was the same. Their friends were the same.

Opting In

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on January 6, 2000

We lit the candles Friday night in honor of the new millennium.
I know it should not have been done that way. Observant Jews insisted right up until the Waterford ball dropped in Times Square that the millennium had nothing to do with them, that on Friday night it was Shabbat, not 2,000 years after Jesus that they were celebrating.

New Year, New Changes

By Rob Eshman
Published on November 29, 1999

Last week I was driving to a family celebration at Leisure World in Laguna Hills when I noticed something very odd about the weather: Fall was in the air.

It's a subtle thing in Southern California, but those of us who have lived here long enough recognize the slight change in temperature, the almost imperceptible newness in the air.

Some Thoughts on My New Year

Published on September 9, 1999

Another year come and gone. Another one beginning. For me, an occasion more for recollection than repentance.

Welcoming a New Year With Sweet Celebrations

By Judith Geller Marlow
Published on September 9, 1999

On the first day of Tishri, Sept. 10, the Jewish New Year begins at sunset.